Folk Rock Icon Condemns Trump and Tech Billionaires in Stark New Political Montage.
Music legend Neil Young has released a blistering new visual statement targeting Donald Trump and a group of powerful tech billionaires he labels “looting oligarchs,” including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk.
The two-minute video, titled “As Time Explodes,” premiered Thursday night (October 30) on Young’s YouTube channel and stitches together a series of news clips to deliver a stark warning about political corruption, corporate greed, and the widening gulf between the wealthy elite and ordinary Americans.
Unlike many of Young’s protest releases, “As Time Explodes” contains no lyrics. Instead, it uses a guitar-driven instrumental inspired by his 2003 Crazy Horse track “Be The Rain”, allowing the imagery to speak for itself.
The video opens with dramatic footage of the demolition of the White House’s East Wing during the recent government shutdown—a moment Young uses to symbolize chaos and institutional failure under Trump’s leadership.
The montage then turns its attention to the billionaire class. Viewers see Elon Musk wielding a chainsaw, Trump accepting a luxury jet from Qatar, and Apple CEO Tim Cook visiting the White House. A spotlight is also cast on Jeff Bezos’ lavish wedding in Venice, which drew criticism earlier this year for its extravagant cost.
The video includes a pointed tweet declaring, “The oligarchs gather & so starts the looting of America,” reinforcing Young’s message that a handful of wealthy figures have amassed disproportionate influence over American society.
Additional footage depicts National Guard troops responding to ICE protests and large crowds participating in the No Kings Protests, a movement that has surged across the country in recent weeks.
By ending on these images, Young signals his solidarity with demonstrators pushing back against government overreach and corporate power.
The video builds on Young’s long history of political activism. In 2022, he famously pulled his entire catalog from Spotify after accusing the platform of spreading COVID-19 misinformation through Joe Rogan’s podcast. Earlier this month, he announced plans to withdraw from Amazon Music as well, urging fans to stop supporting corporations like Amazon, Meta, and Whole Foods.
He has also deleted his Facebook and Instagram accounts over Meta’s treatment of young users and quit X/Twitter after Musk appeared to endorse an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. “We are stopping all use of X we can control,” he wrote. “For reasons that should be obvious to the richest man on Earth.”
Young has maintained an unwavering stance against Trump, even joining Joan Baez, Bernie Sanders, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour to protest the president’s policies. His recent song “Big Crime” also takes direct aim at Trump, whom he called “out of control” earlier this year.
With “As Time Explodes,” Young once again uses his art to sound the alarm on what he views as the dangerous convergence of political power and unchecked wealth in America.
